Belfast marathon was too long, organisers admit

The organisers of the Belfast Marathon have admitted the course run on Sunday was too long.
5/5/19 PACEMAKER PRESS
The Belfast Marathon leaves from Stormont and works its way through the city. Belfast marathon winner Joel Kositany crosses the line.
PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS5/5/19 PACEMAKER PRESS
The Belfast Marathon leaves from Stormont and works its way through the city. Belfast marathon winner Joel Kositany crosses the line.
PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS
5/5/19 PACEMAKER PRESS The Belfast Marathon leaves from Stormont and works its way through the city. Belfast marathon winner Joel Kositany crosses the line. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS

In a statement, the chairman of the organising committee put the error down to the lead car having “diverted” from the official route.

David Seaton said: “On behalf of the organising committee, we would like to apologise to competitors of today’s race.

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“Approximately 460 additional metres were added to the officially measured course of 26.2 miles.

“This was due to human error, with the lead car diverting from the official route.

“I can assure all participants that protocols will be put in place to ensure this never happens again.

“In the meantime, we are in the process of adjusting runners times to reflect the correct distance.”

He added: “Feedback on the new route has been overwhelmingly positive and we thank the thousands of spectators who lined the route to support 18,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletics.”

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